Knee-jerk reactions to that disaster

[aluminum seats]

Jeez. That first quarter was the Denver playoff game of a few years ago times twenty million. What an absolute fiasco.

--The loss of Welker hurt as much as the worst-case predictions said. Just an irreplaceable guy. Edelman definitely has a future, though—how about that 4th and 7 that was called back? Guy would Not. Be. Denied. Awesome.

--Brady is hurt, and if he isn’t, he oughta be. Just looked lost out there. Is it the lack of receivers? A lot of this is hard to tell on TV. He was pressured a lot, but other times he had all day. And I feel I have to say this, if only because his leadership has been praised for so long by so many. Where is the passionate leader of years past? I know he’s not a kid anymore, but the guy did not exactly look inspiring on the sidelines.

--It’s been said everywhere, but it’s true. The offensive play calling is so painful, I still wonder if changing coordinators alone could have made a difference. Just no coherence whatsoever.

--It didn’t help that the offensive line didn’t play well. I was confident that would be an absolute strength of this team through the playoffs. Guess not.

--And I thought the Pats could stop the run? You tell me before the game the Ravens pass for 34 yards I’d assume we’d be planning for the Chargers.

--The flat, abysmal, pathetic display at the start certainly called out for Kevin Faulk. The guy’s just a pro. You wonder how much longer he can perform at this level. Still, having him be the top back the whole game? To me, the game effectively ended with the first series of the second half, when they ran that little delay to him again. And again. I mean, enough already.

--I’m sorry Maroney fumbled a couple of times, but one carry? Did he murder someone? Taylor had 2?

--Tough to miss his only FG of the playoffs. Bad ending to a good year.

--Get a punter already.

--I hate to think it, but I can’t shake the feeling that the Bill Belichick of 2001 could have gotten a lot more out of this team.

--I don’t know, sure there’s a lot more. There’s a lot of specific offseason stuff to discuss, which I’ll leave to other threads—I suppose some of this could be a jumping off point. Good to vent anyway.

--BTW, maybe I'm a homer. Never thought I was, but this game surprised me.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Once they fell behind by as much as they did you knew they'd have to abandon the running game.
Edleman looked good, thank god because WW isnt comeing back next sept so JE will be out slot reciever.
I think its simple though, they just dont have enough good players yet, they have a lot to build on so thats a plus but we have to get some more good players in to make a run next year.

 

[Brarrell]

Once they fell behind by as much as they did you knew they'd have to abandon the running game.
Edleman looked good, thank god because WW isnt comeing back next sept so JE will be out slot reciever.
I think its simple though, they just dont have enough good players yet, they have a lot to build on so thats a plus but we have to get some more good players in to make a run next year.

STOP TRADING DOWN AND TRY TO PICK PLAYMAKERS VALUE DOESN'T WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS! Try spending some money to keep your top players and trading down for value in other words start spending money.

 

[Fencer]

in other words start spending money.

They spend to the cap.

I wish people would stop saying the Pats should spend more money unless they say "The Pats should spend more on X at the cost of spending less on Y."

 

[Canada's #1 Pats Fan]

--I hate to think it, but I can’t shake the feeling that the Bill Belichick of 2001 could have gotten a lot more out of this team.

Yeah, you are probably right, but having Weis and RAC certainly helped back then as well.

 

[Canada's #1 Pats Fan]

I certainly hope that the reason RAC hasn't signed anywhere yet is because he is coming back. Having a pass rush sure helps Earthwind and Poole look like all pro's but it just seems that Pees' defense is too predictable.

 

[upstater1]

STOP TRADING DOWN AND TRY TO PICK PLAYMAKERS VALUE DOESN'T WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS! Try spending some money to keep your top players and trading down for value in other words start spending money.

Trading down is what landed them Butler, Vollmer and Edelman and a 2nd rounder for 2010.

Would you trade those four for, let's say, Clay Matthews and Brace?

 

[BrownNServe]

--I’m sorry Maroney fumbled a couple of times, but one carry? Did he murder someone? Taylor had 2?

This was just as bizarre as the play-calling. I was figuring we'd see a lot of both of those guys to keep the game balanced. Faulk still had a great game picking up the slack, but we need something more than a draw-play run game.

 

[fester]

STOP TRADING DOWN AND TRY TO PICK PLAYMAKERS VALUE DOESN'T WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS! Try spending some money to keep your top players and trading down for value in other words start spending money.

You do know that the Pats basically spend to within a few million of the adjusted cap every year ( they need to keep a small reserve for injuries and replacements during the season, which if they go underbudget on, they'll roll forward to cover earned NLTBE incentives from the previous year).

 

[PromisedLand]

Jeez. That first quarter was the Denver playoff game of a few years ago times twenty million. What an absolute fiasco.

--The loss of Welker hurt as much as the worst-case predictions said. Just an irreplaceable guy. Edelman definitely has a future, though—how about that 4th and 7 that was called back? Guy would Not. Be. Denied. Awesome.

--Brady is hurt, and if he isn’t, he oughta be. Just looked lost out there. Is it the lack of receivers? A lot of this is hard to tell on TV. He was pressured a lot, but other times he had all day. And I feel I have to say this, if only because his leadership has been praised for so long by so many. Where is the passionate leader of years past? I know he’s not a kid anymore, but the guy did not exactly look inspiring on the sidelines.

--It’s been said everywhere, but it’s true. The offensive play calling is so painful, I still wonder if changing coordinators alone could have made a difference. Just no coherence whatsoever.

--It didn’t help that the offensive line didn’t play well. I was confident that would be an absolute strength of this team through the playoffs. Guess not.

--And I thought the Pats could stop the run? You tell me before the game the Ravens pass for 34 yards I’d assume we’d be planning for the Chargers.

--The flat, abysmal, pathetic display at the start certainly called out for Kevin Faulk. The guy’s just a pro. You wonder how much longer he can perform at this level. Still, having him be the top back the whole game? To me, the game effectively ended with the first series of the second half, when they ran that little delay to him again. And again. I mean, enough already.

--I’m sorry Maroney fumbled a couple of times, but one carry? Did he murder someone? Taylor had 2?

--Tough to miss his only FG of the playoffs. Bad ending to a good year.

--Get a punter already.

--I hate to think it, but I can’t shake the feeling that the Bill Belichick of 2001 could have gotten a lot more out of this team.

--I don’t know, sure there’s a lot more. There’s a lot of specific offseason stuff to discuss, which I’ll leave to other threads—I suppose some of this could be a jumping off point. Good to vent anyway.

--BTW, maybe I'm a homer. Never thought I was, but this game surprised me.

Excellent post.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Playcalling tends to look one-sided when you are down 24-0.

It doesn't matter who the OC is... you pass. A LOT.

That makes it a lot easier to defend and one tends to see a lot of INTs in that situation.

Beyond that today marks a somewhat fitting end to an inconsistent season. Be it injuries, or lack of talent or improved coaching, I don't know the reason but I fully expect the off season focus will be to restore consistency for next season.

 

[Bella*chick]

Playcalling tends to look one-sided when you are down 24-0.

It doesn't matter who the OC is... you pass. A LOT.

That makes it a lot easier to defend and one tends to see a lot of INTs in that situation.

Beyond that today marks a somewhat fitting end to an inconsistent season. Be it injuries, or lack of talent or improved coaching, I don't know the reason but I fully expect the off season focus will be to restore consistency for next season.

Nice post, Joe.

I do admit I wondered why they couldn't run the ball a little more. Yeah they were in a hole, but they dug it super early. There was plenty of time, at least at first, to slow it down and try to chip away at some long drives.

 

[efeene]

Trading down is what landed them Butler, Vollmer and Edelman and a 2nd rounder for 2010.

Would you trade those four for, let's say, Clay Matthews and Brace?

I do like Vollmer and Butler and Edelman for potential but Clay Matthews did make the Pro Bowl this year , his rookie year, and only figures to improve upon a Pro Bowl year. Just saying

 

[upstater1]

I do like Vollmer and Butler and Edelman for potential but Clay Matthews did make the Pro Bowl this year , his rookie year, and only figures to improve upon a Pro Bowl year. Just saying

Could be four players versus one.

If you like multiple players and think highly of them, then it's no shame to trade down.

Chung was taken with the Cassel pick so that's not a trade down. But the move out of the Green Bay spot netted them Butler, a 2nd in 2010 and Edelman, while Vollmer was also a trade down pick.

 

[aluminum seats]

I do admit I wondered why they couldn't run the ball a little more. Yeah they were in a hole, but they dug it super early. There was plenty of time, at least at first, to slow it down and try to chip away at some long drives.

And it's not like they went pass pass pass, the first drive in the second half being an example. It was just a mess.

 

[Mack Herron]

They don't run because they don't want to run. The coach fell in love with his QB and decided not to develop a serious running game. Until they do, they will not compete.

 

[efeene]

I also have no problem with the "trading down" method. I think it is great to target multiple players you like and have draft pick currency for flexibility.. I like the draft as much as the next guy or gal. But.. Would you , or I, trade Butler the 2010 2nd and Edelman for Matthews as of NOW? You would have to , at the very least, consider it real hard. In reality if they liked Edelman that much they would have just taken him with a different 7th, acquired one if need be - not a hard thing to do - so it really comes down to Butler and next year's 2nd for a 22 year old Pro Bowl LB...

 

[ivanvamp]

Once they fell behind by as much as they did you knew they'd have to abandon the running game.

I completely disagree with this. Down 14-0, halfway through the first quarter, no way you abandon the run. Practically every snap from that point on was out of the shotgun. Not counting punts, here's the gruesome stats:

- 64 offensive snaps
- 54 out of the shotgun (84%)

Now, down 14 points with more than 55 minutes of game time left, and they do virtually nothing but go out of the shotgun. That's just abysmal game-calling. They had one drive where they used a lot of no-shotgun (it followed Cundiff's 27 yd FG). And it really only happened once they got the muffed fumble by Baltimore. They ran four plays with Brady under center, then two from the shotgun. Result: TD to Edelman.

Brady is good, but you can't run every friggin' play out of the shotgun. Why not try to pound Maroney, Morris, and Fred Taylor at least a *little*. They only had 4 carries among the three of them. Ridiculous.

This entire game was a football abortion, but I think the coaching staff did as poor a job in this game as I've ever seen from them.

 

[zimmy]

I completely disagree with this. Down 14-0, halfway through the first quarter, no way you abandon the run. Practically every snap from that point on was out of the shotgun. Not counting punts, here's the gruesome stats:

- 64 offensive snaps
- 54 out of the shotgun (84%)

Now, down 14 points with more than 55 minutes of game time left, and they do virtually nothing but go out of the shotgun. That's just abysmal game-calling. They had one drive where they used a lot of no-shotgun (it followed Cundiff's 27 yd FG). And it really only happened once they got the muffed fumble by Baltimore. They ran four plays with Brady under center, then two from the shotgun. Result: TD to Edelman.

Brady is good, but you can't run every friggin' play out of the shotgun. Why not try to pound Maroney, Morris, and Fred Taylor at least a *little*. They only had 4 carries among the three of them. Ridiculous.

This entire game was a football abortion, but I think the coaching staff did as poor a job in this game as I've ever seen from them.

The offenisve line was being blown off the line of scrimmage. Every time Brady was under centre a Raven was meeting him or the running back in the backfield. You can't play like that. We tried running the ball and it was getting stuffed. We tried play action and Brady was turning round to find a Raven in his grill. We went to the shot gun as it allowed us to get a few quick passes off and run a few draws with Faulk. Was it an ideal scenario? Of course not, but plan A went down the tank pretty early

 

[ATippett56]

Practically every snap from that point on was out of the shotgun. Not counting punts, here's the gruesome stats:

- 64 offensive snaps
- 54 out of the shotgun (84%)

The over-reliance with the shotgun offense is one the main reasons for the Patriots red zone offensive deficiencies.

Now, down 14 points with more than 55 minutes of game time left, and they do virtually nothing but go out of the shotgun. That's just abysmal game-calling. They had one drive where they used a lot of no-shotgun (it followed Cundiff's 27 yd FG). And it really only happened once they got the muffed fumble by Baltimore. They ran four plays with Brady under center, then two from the shotgun. Result: TD to Edelman.

Brady is good, but you can't run every friggin' play out of the shotgun. Why not try to pound Maroney, Morris, and Fred Taylor at least a *little*. They only had 4 carries among the three of them. Ridiculous.

Especially with Wes Welker placed on injured reserve.

This entire game was a football abortion, but I think the coaching staff did as poor a job in this game as I've ever seen from them.

The New England Patriots need an offensive coordinator who believes in the running game.